Friday the 13th

Yeah.

If you like horror films, or specifically the Friday the 13th franchise, this movie will not disappoint.

There's nothing new here. I can't be certain because the only other Friday the 13th movies I saw were the original and Part VI, but I'm pretty sure the only thing that's new to the franchise is the circumstance by which the victims find themselves at the end of whatever sharp object Voorhees puts in them.

The movie is both frightening and funny. It has violence, sex, nudity, drug use, blood and guts... pretty much everything you can expect from a horror movie. What makes this series so much more accessible is the familiarity of the killer. This series will go on forever now that it's made it out of the 80's and 90's... Jason Takes Manhattan... ugh.

Push

No.

I actually saw Push on 2/10 but had, and still have, absolutely no desire to relive it enough to write about it... in fact I actually wrote that last sentence an hour ago... and I wrote that one yesterday... ok, here we go.

Long story short, Push was pretty terrible. It's a desperate attempt to break into the superhero genre with an original idea and the attempt is a failure.

Now that I'm finally done writing this amazing review, I'm gonna get back to not thinking about that movie.

The International

No, I don't think you should pay to see this one, either.

It hasn't been a great year for movies. Of the 9 I've seen so far, I've only mildly recommended one. I had to leave the theatre during The International a few times for various reasons and I do feel like I missed some important plot points, but I wasn't necessarily confused and I don't think I would have liked it more had I seen the whole thing straight through.

What bothered me the most was the ending. It just kind of ended. Like in Quarantine, the end of the movie is clearly depicted in the trailer, it's extraordinarily anti-climactic and then they open it up for a sequel; so there's really no resolution, even to the immediate threat.

I know I've been harsh lately and if anyone at the movie studios is reading (::chuckles quietly to self::), I really think you should be more brave and start releasing some Oscar caliber films earlier in the year. There are plenty of people who would go to a good movie, but don't have the time or funds to see so many at such a concentrated level at the end of the year. If a film really is the best picture of the year, it won't matter when it comes out in theatres... plus, you can always re-release it in December.

Coraline

No.

I've never really been a fan of "stop motion" animation. It's hard to say whether or not I would have enjoyed The Nightmare Before Christmas if it had been made using traditional or computer animation, but there is something about it that I don't like and I felt the same way throughout Coraline.

The whole movie was lacking the vibrancy and a sense of urgency that you can find in, what I consider, the really great animated films. There was no climax because there was never any real sense of dread. G rated films are traditionally stress free, but Coraline is a PG rated family film so there really should have been something on the line for someone and while there was for Coraline, there wasn't for me. I could not care less about what was happening in the real world of the movie or in the world through the door behind the wallpaper. When conflict arose between the parallel dimensions, my initial reaction was to look at the time to see how much longer the movie would be.

Coraline is in 3D at select theatres and I didn't see it at one of those locations. While it's definitely possible that it would enhance the experience, I'm not sure that it can improve it enough to warrant a recommendation. It's too drawn out with a yawn inducing score accompanying it's monotonous storyline. Save your cash.